Gender health and policies: the state of the art from exposure to solutions

Objective. To synthesize the determinants of gender inequalities through a narrative review that: (i) describes gender related var- iables that can create different levels of health; (ii) describes key points that may assist in policy development and its reorientation towards gender differences; (iii) debates potential approaches in understanding gender issues. Methods. Review of the international literature through online databases (Pubmed), search engines, publications and documents from ?grey literature?. Inclusion criteria: publications from 1997, English language; keywords used: gender based analysis; gender and public policy; women?s health; gender differences; health policy; gender impact assessment. Among the 300 papers retrieved, 55 were selected for relevance. Results. We performed a narrative synthesis of the included literature, regarding: (i) gender differences and their determi-nants; (ii) elements for the changing; (iii) possible approaches; (iv) gender influences the pursuit of health and health care access through specific variables; (v) health policies can modify these variables only by a minimal percentage. These interventions should guarantee equity and allow efficient resources allocation. The gap between political announce- ments and real policy implementation remains unchanged. (vi) Standard approaches to the topic are not feasible due to the scarcity of a specific literature and the numerous cultural differences. Conclusions. Gender analysis of policies suggests they can dif- ferently affect women in comparison to men. However, reforms, strategies and interventions introduced in the last two decades, have achieved a limited success towards better gender equality in health. The main aim is to attack the structural sources of gender inequity in the society

Surfing the internet for health information: an italian survey on use and population choices

BACKGROUND: Recent international sources have described how the rapid expansion of the Internet has precipitated an increase in its use by the general population to search for medical information. Most studies on e-health use investigated either through the prevalence of such use and the social and income patterns of users in selected populations, or the psychological consequences and satisfaction experienced by patients with particular diseases. Few studies have been carried out in Europe that have tried to identify the behavioral consequences of Internet use for health-related purposes in the general population.The aims of this study are to provide information about the prevalence of Internet use for health-related purposes in Italy according to demographic and socio-cultural features, to investigate the impact of the information found on health-related behaviors and choices and to analyze any differences based on health condition, self-rated health and relationships with health professionals and facilities. METHODS: A multicenter survey was designed within six representative Italian cities. Data were collected through a validated questionnaire administered in hospital laboratories by physicians. Respondents were questioned about their generic condition, their use of the Internet and their health behaviors and choices related to Internet use. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and logistic regression to assess any differences by socio-demographic and health-related variables. RESULTS: The sample included 3018 individuals between the ages of 18 and 65 years. Approximately 65% of respondents reported using the Internet, and 57% of them reported using it to search for health-related information. The main reasons for search on the Internet were faster access and a greater amount of information. People using the Internet more for health-related purposes were younger, female and affected by chronic diseases. CONCLUSIONS: A large number of Internet users search for health information and subsequently modify their health behaviors and relationships with their medical providers. This may suggest a strong public health impact with consequences in all European countries, and it would be prudent to plan educational and prevention programs. However, it could be important to investigate the quality of health-related websites to protect and inform user

Different use/abuse patterns (overweight/obesity, alcohol, smoking, drugs, cannabis, opiates, cocaine) according to job category. Results of a survey on 4024 young workers from Abruzzo, Italy: the Valentino Study

Using a multidisciplinary questionnaire containing items from previously validated instruments (i.e. CAGE), during the year 2007 a survey (Valentino Project) was carried out on 4024 young workers (18-35 y) from Abruzzo, Italy to investigate the prevalence of use/abuse of alcohol, food, smoking, and drugs in different types of job categories, and to evaluate the potential association between occupational class and type of use/abuse. With the exception of cannabis use/abuse (13.5%), the prevalence of incorrect behaviours was higher than the young-adult general population (workers and non-workers) from Central-South Italy: overweight/obesity = 30.8%; current smoking = 45.7%; alcohol addiction = 17.3%; use/abuse of psychotropic legal drugs = 4.7%; cocaine = 4.5%; opiates = 1.0%; > 1 illegal drug (multiple abuse) = 3.9%. This negative scenario is accentuated by a probable > or = 25% underestimation of illegal drug use/abuse, and because drug use/abuse is inversely associated with age. Using logistic regression analyses (controlling for age, gender marital status, education, job-strain, self-reported health, and all other types of use/abuse), a significant independent association was found for the first time between specific types of use/abuse and some job categories (i.e. cocaine for traders/consultants; legal psychoactive drugs and cannabis for unqualified professions such as itinerants or precarious workers; smoking for Call-Center operators; overweight/obesity for farmers/artisans). These findings should be used to maximize the efficacy of substance use/abuse preventive strategies, which could be more precisely targeted to different professions, and raise the need to control for job category in future multivariate analyses investigating substance use/abuse predictor

Angular resolution at map level in the QUBIC instrument

Since its discovery in the 1960s, the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation has become a very important observational tool to understand the physics of the early universe. The parameter r, defined as the relative amplitude of tensor to scalar perturbations, is currently constrained to the range r < 0.056. QUBIC is a ground-based instrument designed to search for very weak B-mode signals in polarization anisotropies at intermediate angular scales (l 3c 30 12 200). To achieve this goal, QUBIC combines two widely used techniques in the CMB community: interferometry and bolometry. In this work, we compute the angular resolution for an end-to-end simulation using two independent methods: Fit and Sigma. We conclude that the reconstruction performed by the software is appropriate since the resolution measured with both calibrated methods coincides with the theoretical value of the expected resolution.Desde su descubrimiento en los a\u2dcnos 1960, el fondo c\ub4osmico de microondas (CMB, por sus siglas en ingl\ub4es) se ha convertido en una importante herramienta observacional para entender la f\ub4\u131sica del universo temprano. El par\ub4ametro r, definido como la amplitud de las perturbaciones tensoriales relativas a las escalares, est\ub4a acotado actualmente al rango r < 0.056. QUBIC es un instrumento terrestre dise\u2dcnado para buscar se\u2dcnales muy d\ub4ebiles de los modos B en las anisotrop\ub4\u131as de la polarizaci\ub4on a escalas angulares intermedias (l 3c 30 12 200). Para lograr este objetivo, QUBIC combina dos t\ub4ecnicas muy usadas en la comunidad CMB: interferometr\ub4\u131a y bolometr\ub4\u131a. En este trabajo calculamos la resoluci\ub4on angular de una simulaci\ub4on end-to-end con dos m\ub4etodos independientes: Fit y Sigma. Concluimos que la reconstrucci\ub4on que realiza el software es apropiada ya que la resoluci\ub4on medida con ambos m\ub4etodos calibrados coincide con los valores te\ub4oricos de la resoluci\ub4on esperada